BOOM—
Thunder roared, ear-splitting and violent. A colossal hand of lightning came crashing down from above.
Kuro's eyes widened in shock—he had no time to dodge. He crossed his clawed hands in front of him, pouring every ounce of strength into his defense!
But the power of the "Thunder God" was far too terrifying.
With just a single blow, the lightning swallowed Kuro whole, blasting open a crater that looked like his very grave.
Buried deep within the pit, Kuro's suit was scorched black, his body smoking. His skin had blistered and charred, exposing blood and flesh beneath.
If not for the Seal of the Pact activating, he would have already been a corpse.
At the crater's edge stood "Thunder God" Enel, peering down in mild surprise.
"You're still alive…? That 'Seal of the Pact'—what kind of thing is that?"
He listened for a moment, then lifted his head toward another figure standing nearby.
"You're his captain… Davy Jones, aren't you? It seems he trusts you quite a bit—he believes that once you step in, you can defeat me?"
Enel leapt effortlessly over the crater. In a flash of light, his "Thunder God Form" appeared right before Davy Jones.
"Indeed, there is something strange about you," Enel said. "But I still don't understand where his confidence comes from."
"Strange?" Davy Jones stroked the writhing tentacles that hung from his chin.
"And what exactly is so strange about me?"
"I can't hear your thoughts," Enel said, eyes narrowing. "That's never happened before. It's as if… there's a door blocking my Mantra."
"If you could hear what goes on in my head," Davy Jones said evenly, raising his trident like a whip, "you'd go mad."
Enel thrust his golden staff forward, intercepting the strike—only to feel a shock of Haki surge through the trident.
To his astonishment, the lightning that made up his body… seemed to recoil from it.
Another first.
Enel realized this man might be even more troublesome than "Straw Hat" Luffy himself.
With that thought, he shed all restraint—and unleashed his full electric fury.
BZZZZT—!
Blinding light flooded the island, turning day to white.
Thunder boomed like cannon fire, shaking the air and making the eardrums throb.
But through that storm of light, Enel saw that Davy Jones didn't move an inch.
The lightning struck him again and again—yet each bolt was deflected, as if by an invisible armor!
In the next instant, Davy Jones forced Enel's golden staff down with his trident and drove the weapon diagonally toward his chest.
Enel's instincts saved him—he twisted aside at inhuman speed—but the trident still grazed him, tearing through his chest.
His lightning-elemental form had failed him—the blow landed for real, and blood splattered down his torso.
"I was… wounded?" Enel looked down, dazed. "Such speed…"
He flipped backward several times, putting distance between them, then glanced again at his chest. The trident's strike had nearly pierced his heart.
Enel covered the wound with electricity—but to his shock, it didn't heal.
He could only hide it. The damage was real, irreversible.
"You are indeed stronger than those insects," Enel admitted, brushing his chest with one hand. Then he pointed toward Kuro and the fallen "Supernovas."
"No wonder they follow you."
"But that only means—if I defeat you, I'll become even more perfect."
His grin returned, manic and divine. "A god must have no weaknesses. A god must be absolute."
He stomped down.
Lightning speared upward like javelins, propelling him into the sky until he was but a glowing speck above the island.
Kuro and the Supernovas, struggling to rise, looked up in confusion.
What was Enel planning now?
They soon had their answer.
Thunderclouds rolled together in the heavens, churning like tides. Serpents of lightning slithered through the clouds, hissing with electric tongues.
High above them, Enel stood amidst the storm, gathering his divine power into a colossal sphere of crackling energy.
"Raigo—!!!" he roared.
The thunderball grew larger and larger, swelling until it was half the size of the island itself.
Enel had indeed grown far stronger than before.
Once, he had needed the Ark Maxim to summon thunderclouds for "Raigo."
Now, he needed nothing but his own power.
He would do as he had done to Birka—and nearly to Skypiea—obliterate everything beneath him.
On Raijin Island, the villagers looked up in despair. They knew prayer was useless; they collapsed to the ground, resigned to die.
Today would be their last day alive.
The Supernovas swallowed hard, powerless. One by one, their eyes turned toward Davy Jones.
Kuro too glanced at his captain.
Only Davy Jones could save them now.
But to their shock, Davy Jones had vanished.
Moments later, the "Raigo" had grown so vast it blanketed the entire island.
Laughing triumphantly, Enel raised his golden staff and called the thunder down.
"What Observation Haki? What Armament Haki?
Before a god's might, all of it is meaningless!"
But before his laughter could finish echoing, a strange rumble came from within the "Raigo."
Enel blinked—then froze.
Because Davy Jones was suddenly right before him.
"You…" Even Enel was startled—Davy Jones had moved from the island to his very face in the blink of an eye. "How could I not even see you move?!"
Davy Jones gave no answer.
He simply leveled his trident toward the "Raigo."
The sphere of lightning began to shudder violently.
Enel's eyes widened.
"You—can control my lightning?!"
"Not just lightning," Davy Jones replied. He turned his trident skyward.
The wind shifted instantly. Clouds darkened. A howling gale rose, nearly throwing Enel off balance.
Then came torrential rain—pouring down on his "Thunder God Form," soaking through it.
"Tch." Enel grimaced and raised his staff again, pouring his divine energy back into the "Raigo," locking it against Davy Jones in a battle of wills.
A staff and a trident—two opposing forces straining for dominance.
The thunderball ballooned, then shrank, then swelled again—until finally it destabilized.
With a deafening roar, it shattered—splintering into a thousand bolts that ripped the heavens apart.
"My… my Raigo…" Enel gasped in disbelief, fury flashing in his eyes. But pride would not allow him to yield.
He grabbed his staff and lunged at Davy Jones again.
Then—from the corner of his eye—he saw something move above the clouds.
A massive, writhing tentacle was descending toward him.
Instinctively, Enel spun aside and lashed out with lightning—only to strike empty air.
A trident flashed in from an angle, piercing his waist.
He screamed, bursting into light, retreating to another spot—but again, the trident was there, stabbing through his afterimage.
He swung his golden staff, but hit nothing.
Only illusions.
"An illusion… I'm seeing illusions…" Enel's voice trembled. He spun wildly, eyes darting.
"What's real? What's fake?!"
He couldn't tell anymore. His senses betrayed him.
Looking upward, he saw that Davy Jones had vanished entirely.
In his place, high above the clouds, loomed an immense monster—far larger than the Raigo—its countless tentacles writhing, its pale blue eyes gazing silently down.
Their eyes met. Enel's mind began to unravel.
All calm was gone; reason dissolved.
He turned and dove toward the island below.
I just need time—to clear my head.
But as he fell, something was wrong.
Raijin Island was receding… growing smaller…
Until it was only a dark speck far below.
Suddenly, he realized—he wasn't falling at all.
He was ascending, drawn closer and closer to that monstrous being above.
"I… I don't understand…" Enel stammered. He felt something tremble within him—then, in the next instant, he was floating outside his own body.
There were two Enels.
One physical, one spiritual—separated where once they had been one.
His mind went blank.
The two forms overlapped again, lightning fading away.
Blood trickled from his nose, and his eyes went dull.
He plummeted—like a meteor—back down to Raijin Island.
BOOM—
Smoke and dust surged skyward. A deep crater split the ground.
"That lightning freak… is he dead?" Apoo leaned forward on his long arms, crouched like an ape, teeth like piano keys glinting as he spoke.
"Should we… finish him off?"
Kuro adjusted his glasses calmly.
"Let the captain decide."
Then—
Ba-dum… ba-dum… ba-dum…
A slow, rhythmic heartbeat echoed from within the pit.
Sparks crackled anew, lighting the crater in blinding arcs.
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